Fashion police cracks down at Hawaii Army base

HONOLULU—A Hawaii Army base is trying to maintain decorum by monitoring what people are wearing and how they're behaving.

A fashion police "Courtesy Patrol" at Schofield Barracks on Oahu is cracking down on civilian and off-duty soldier attire that's deemed inappropriate—including short shorts, bare midriffs, visible underwear, sagging pants and swimwear other than at the pool, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser ( http://ow.ly/raojm) reported Monday.

The two-person teams are also on the lookout for uniformed soldiers who are committing violations such as walking while talking on a cellphone and failing to extend proper courtesies.

The standards are being applied to all Army installations across Hawaii.

The Army said a crackdown on "revealing, offensive and unkempt" attire for civilians and off-duty soldiers is also in effect at several mainland posts. The Courtesy Patrol has the authority to "verbally detain" a soldier but no authority to detain a civilian.

Eight soldiers are picked daily to be part of four roving Courtesy Patrols at Schofield. The two-person teams include an officer and an enlisted soldier with the rank of sergeant first class or higher.

"A lot of the focus during wartime is focused more toward mission accomplishment. ... It can shift away from personal standards," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Orin Cloninger, who spent a 12-hour shift on Courtesy Patrol last week.

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"We're paid to be a professional military force, and that's just kind of what we're getting back to now."

"We really want to just educate people on what 'right' looks like," said Sgt. Maj. Robert Parker, provost senior enlisted leader for the 25th Infantry Division. "It's not an 'I gotcha'-type program."